Review of "The Night the Referee Hit Back"

As one who loves to read books on boxing but really isn't enthusiastic about the product the sport puts out today, this book was right up my alley.  Not only does award winning author Mike Silver share some great stories from the sport's glory days, but he also includes a sharply worded critical piece on the state of the sport today.  Here is my review of his book "The Night the Referee Hit Back."  

Title/Author:

“The Night the Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments from the World of Boxing” by Mike Silver

Rating: 

5 of 5 stars (excellent)

Review:

As also noted in this book, the sport of boxing has declined in both popularity and quality for the last two decades or so.  Between an alphabet-soup variety of sanctioning bodies and many different weight classes, there are far too many “champions” for even hardy fans to follow, yet alone the casual fan.  However, it hasn’t always been this way.  As one can tell from the title, respected boxing author Mike Silver has also compiled some excellent stories from the sport’s glory years.

Silver has won awards, and this book covers approximately 40 years of stories, analysis and criticisms of various boxers and trends in the sport.  The list of names covered in the book could be mistaken for a partial list of all-time greats.  This would include boxers from many different weight classes (at least from the traditional eight categories, not the wide variety in today’s version of the sport).  Muhammad Ali, Emilie Griffin, Joe Gans, and so many others are highlighted in the collection – it shows the versatility and the knowledge of boxing history possessed by Silver.

Usually, collections of past writings or stories will contain at least one or two items that don’t match up to the quality of the other selections.  That is not the case in this book as every story, article, critique and interview (there are 5 interviews included) are all excellent and well worth the time to read.  Any boxing fan, no matter the era in which they became a fan or which weight class they follow, will find something they will enjoy in this book.

Link: The Night the Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments from the World of Boxing: Silver, Mike: 9781538136904: Amazon.com: Books